Wiper fix
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Even though windshield wipers are one
of the most important pieces of car safety equipment, they often receive the
least attention. We recommend replacing the blade inserts every six months.
Replacement inserts are inexpensive and can be installed in
minutes.
Don’t confuse
new wiper arms and blade replacements with inserts. Unless your wiper arms and
blades are damaged or their joints are corroded, an inexpensive ($3 to $6) set
of wiper inserts is all you need. Buy inserts the right length. (Check the
booklet at the auto parts store carefully. Sometimes a left side blade is
longer than the right or vice versa.) Then wash your windshield thoroughly.
Dirt and grime are hard on the delicate rubber. To replace the insert, pull the
wiper arm back from the windshield. Lay a towel over your windshield at this
point just in case you bump the arm, causing it to slam against the windshield.
Look for a retaining clip at the base of your old insert and squeeze it
together with a needle-nose pliers. While squeezing, slide the insert free of
the blade tabs. Install new ones by sliding the insert through the arm tabs. A
little dishwashing soap may make it easier. Don’t force them—just gently push
until you can lock the retaining clip into the guide tab. Check to make sure
there’s some play between the tabs and the insert.
One size fits all
Where’s that !@#$%^&* oil filter
wrench? I change the oil on all my vehicles, which range from a small
four-cylinder import to a full-size pickup. This wrench fits ’em both and
anything in between. It has a slip joint like an adjustable pliers and a
cushioned grip that’s easy to hold on to. It won’t work in those really tight
spots where an ordinary oil filter wrench is useless as well, so if you’ve got
a really tough-to-get-at oil filter, drive to your dealer or quick-oil-change
garage and let them have all the fun. Look for this wrench (about $13) or get
one online at www.toolguy.com for$12.36 plus shipping.
Ding-free doors
Do you park far from anyone at the
mall to avoid door dings, but inexplicably find new ones appearing regularly?
The careless culprit could be whoever parks next to you in your own garage! To
stop this, put these stick-on hollow rubber bumpers onto the door edge of the
other car. Just clean the surface of the door edge, peel back the adhesive
strip cover and press it in place. It may not be pretty, but it’ll keep
your car looking great! Tuff Guard
door protectors are available at auto parts stores (about $3). Call Trimbrite
at (800) 248-7800 or visit www.trimbrite.com.
Hands-free phone gear
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Talking on the phone while you’re
driving is not something we condone, but if you must, do it safely by keeping
your hands free and on the wheel. That makes this activity more like talking to
a passenger in the car (well, sort of). This unit plugs into the base of your
phone and features a clip you can attach to your collar and an earpiece that
fits securely into your ear. This will keep your hands on the wheel and let
your peripheral vision detect what you should be paying attention to. It costs
about $30 at auto parts and electronic supply stores.
Air on demand
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As time goes on, it becomes more and
more of a hassle to check your tires’ air pressure. Gas stations often have
permanent “Out of Order” signs on their compressors or want you to deposit a
quarter and supply your own pressure gauge.
Now you can carry your own compact compressor with a
built-in pressure gauge! It’s lightweight and easily hides in your trunk until
you need it. If you haul bikes on your car rack, you’ll love the convenience of
pumping bike tires to the right pressure. You can find this unit (about $45) or
other units at your auto parts store, or contact Interdynamics Inc. at (718)
499-0608 orwww.id-usa.com.
Wrench with muscle
I’m a big guy, over 200 lbs., and the last time I had to
fix a flat, I had to lean with all my weight to jerk loose the lug nuts to
remove my wheel. So this telescoping tire wrench is now part of my jack kit.
Factory wrenches are often just too short to provide the necessary leverage to
free a stuck lug nut. This nifty wrench is telescoping, so it’ll most likely
fit into your jack compartment and then expand to give you lots of extra
torque. It has four socket ends to fit nearly any passenger car, SUV or pickup.
At $12, it’s well worth the investment. If you don’t find it in your auto parts
store, call Alltrade at (800) 423-3598 to locate a dealer near
you.
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Nearly invisible taillight fix
A friend of
mine recently got a chunk knocked out of his taillight lens by a flying rock.
He went to the body shop to order a new lens and nearly dropped to the floor
when he learned it would cost $125 just for the lens. That’s when we went to
the auto parts store and found FIX A LENS for only $6. (It’s also available
on-line at www.autobarn.net.) You can buy this repair kit in three shades
(frosted, amber and red) for any light on your car. This plastic repair is
heavy duty, not like the cheap colored tape you see on most damaged lenses.
This stuff will bend around curves and survive even the toughest of car washes.
On a car that’s paid for, I’d call it a permanent repair!
Note: Some
states require yearly inspections and the replacement of broken
lenses.
To make the fix:
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Clean the lens surrounding the
damage.
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Cut the plastic lens repair panel about 1/2 in. larger
than the damaged area.
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Cut a piece of prismatic adhesive-backed lens texture,
making it about 1/4in. smaller than the patch. Press it to the backside of the
colored plastic lens.
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Apply the special adhesive strips to the perimeter of the
patch and press it over the damaged area.
Improve the air quality
inside your
car
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Your car may be making you sick! According to AllerDays,
an information service that provides data on allergies and their causes,
Americans spend a half billion dollars per year on allergy treatment alone. To
alleviate discomfort, sufferers diligently clean their homes from top to
bottom, but many forget to clean the other place they spend a great deal of
time in—their cars. Our vehicles offer numerous damp, dark moist areas where
mold and mildew not only survive but flourish. Cars can be a rolling warehouse
of dust, spoiled food and human and animal dander as well as chemicals and
fumes released from fabrics and other synthetic
materials.
Here’s where to look for
these culprits and what you can do to eliminate them:
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Under
the hood. Dirt, dust and grime love to accumulate on top of the
engine. Leaking engine oil and moisture from the cooling and air conditioning
systems attract and hold dust mold and other allergens. A clogged
air-conditioning evaporator can allow condensation and rainwater to accumulate
and become a breeding ground for bacteria and fungi. Most people think turning
on their air conditioner will protect them against exterior pollutants, but if
the system is contaminated, it can compound the problem, especially if the
recirculation switch is on.
These areas are tough to get at and thoroughly clean. If
you detect a musty smell or other odor when you turn on the vents or air
conditioning, take the car to your dealer and explain the problem. This job is
too tough for the average do-it-yourselfer. Ask for an estimate, because some
models are more expensive to clean than others. You may want to shop around a
bit. The dealer or other mechanic can clean the evaporator case with special
cleaners and clean the engine compartment to get rid of the grime and
pollutants that accumulate under the hood. Also examine the cowl at the base of
the windshield and remove any dead leaves, which hold moisture and mold. The
cowl is an intake for your car’s ventilation system, so keeping this area clean
will help improve the inside air
quality.
Inside the car.
Food particles, pet dander and fumes from vinyl, plastics and carpeting can
accumulate here. Bad weatherstripping, rusty body panels or a bad windshield
seal can let in moisture and cause water to accumulate in the carpeting and
under mats.
If you or someone else in your family has allergies,
never eat or smoke in your car. If your car contains food particles and pet
dander, vacuum it thoroughly (use a HEPA filter in the garage or a regular
vacuum outdoors). Get rid of old towels, newspapers, trash and whatever else
you don’t need inside your car. Wash the vinyl with detergent and water to
remove dirt and grime and the thin film from off-gassing vinyl (two washings
are recommended to reduce this problem). Take the floor mats out and wash them,
then let them dry in the sun. Clean the carpets with a hot water spray
extraction–type carpet cleaner. Ruined carpet and padding should be thrown out
and the floorboards washed with a disinfectant cleaner. Open the windows and
let the interior dry thoroughly.
If all this interior cleaning is more than you can
handle, take the car to a professional car cleaning business. Specify what you
want cleaned. Many have different packages available at varying costs. If you
sense you have a problem, ask for “the works!” (about $85). I’d recommend
having this done at least once a year. It gives you that “new car feel” and
will keep that I-want-a-new-car bug at bay.
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In the
trunk. This area can be a catchall for all sorts of debris and
junk—maybe even the beach towels you forgot to take out of the car last summer.
Bad weatherstripping can let in moisture as well. Even your spare tire
compartment can be a breeding ground for mold and
mildew.
Take everything out of the trunk and clean the inside
with a disinfectant cleaner like Lysol. Also clean the spare tire and the
compartment with a disinfectant. Leave the trunk open to dry thoroughly and
then replace the carpets or pads once they’re
cleaned.
Replace a headlight without tools
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Remember changing those cumbersome sealed beam
headlamps of yesterday’s cars (the kind we all remember fondly)? Well, these
days you don’t even need a screwdriver to change your headlight. In most
late-model autos (since the late ’80s), you can just open your hood and look
for the backside of the headlight housing. There you’ll find a large plastic
lockring (if not, see your owner’s manual). Turn the lockring about one-quarter
turn counterclockwise until it’s loose and then pull the socket and lamp base
out of the backside of the bucket. You may have to wiggle the socket as you
pull. Look for a plastic lock that holds the socket to the lamp base and pull
it back and remove the lamp base. Now, without touching the glass of the new
lamp (hold it with a clean rag or paper towel) just push the new one into the
socket, slip the lock back in place and insert the socket. (If you accidentally
touch the glass, clean off your fingerprints with a clean cloth.) Remember to
turn the lockring and test the lamp.
If the lamp doesn’t go on when you turn on the switch,
you may have a corroded socket. If it’s corroded, turn the switch off, buy a
can of electrical contact cleaner and spray into the socket, then try it again.
Also check the fuse and look for bare or worn wires.
Art Direction • BOB
UNGAR
Photography • BILL
ZUEHLKE
Illustration • STEVE
BJÖRKMAN
